In using a pail of the conventional type which is generally frusto-conical in shape and has a bail pivotally mounted adjacent the lip of the open top, it is frequently desired to fill the pail from a body of fluid such as water and to remove the pail filled with water for use elsewhere. When an empty pail of the conventional type is dropped into a body of water for instance it will frequently merely float in an upright position and not fill. Repeated attempts to throw or otherwise project the pail into the water in a sideways orientation are frequently necessary in order to obtain a pailfull of water. Boaters wishing to swab down their decks are well acquainted with this phenomenon, as are others such as those seeking water from a shallow well and the like.